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Fingers were crossed and prayers were said: please let the 100th Tour de France be free of scandal.

And other than some mourning that Chris Froome’s ride to victory had as many whispers of cheating as hands clapping when it wrapped up over the weekend, organizers got their wish.

Still, the Tour de France has a looming enemy. And like doping, this one isn’t easily fixable: climate change. It could change the Tour de France as we know it.

The Tour is famously gruelling, says Andrea Wooles, science medicine and innovation manager with Cycling Canada. “Weather is a massive factor in how cyclists fare . . . they go through crushing humid heat in parts where there is no shade for miles. It’s a battle of who can handle the heat and stay hydrated.”

“Heat” is the key word.

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If global warming is only moderate, temperatures in the south of France, where stages of the tour are usually held, will increase by about two degrees Celsius by 2050, according to Quartz, an online news site which analyzed predicted temperatures in France through 2050 to 2100.

That fits with other studies: The United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, for example, said in its 2012 report that by the end of the century, the average global temperature could rise between 1.6 and 4.4 degrees Celsius — depending, partially, on how much carbon we emit.

If warming is extreme, the increase could be as much as five degrees. The temperature in July in Toulouse, a southern French city, is already in the high 20s.

What does that mean for cyclists, and subsequently the Tour, if the temperature increased to the low or mid 30s?

With humidity, it would feel like low or mid 40s. That brings on increased chances of heat exhaustion and heatstroke.

Heat exhaustion leads to headache, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, low blood pressure and rapid heartbeat. If untreated, it can quickly lead to a heat stroke. That’s when the body’s temperature is greater than 40.6 degree Celsius; every organ of the body is affected.

A heatstroke is not a pretty thing — especially to hear writer Peter Stark describe it in detail in his book Last Breath: The Limits of Adventure. Stark meticulously explains the different stages of a heatstroke, or what the body experiences, through the story of a hypothetical female cycle racer climbing a mountain.

The heat destroys her cells, proteins melt, her muscle tissues deteriorate. It kills her liver cells, swells the part of the brain that co-ordinates muscular contractions, destroys the thinking part of her brain.

“It causes hemorrhaging throughout her body, including heart and lungs,” Stark writes.

“Heatstroke can effect virtually every organ in the human body,” Stark adds, also noting that “doctors are unanimous in calling heatstroke one of the few true medical emergencies.”

In short, if the temperatures on the Tour get too high, competitors could be putting their lives at risk.

In its modern format, it usually happens in July, consists of 21 day-long segments over 23 days and covers about 3,200 kilometres. Cyclists go through plains in southern France, through the snowy Alps and traverse the valleys. The Tour is considered a showcase of athleticism, tenacity and courage.

Michael Barry, the Toronto cyclist who rode alongside now disgraced Lance Armstrong in the Tour in 2010, says heat is a determining factor.

“If cyclists are not cooling properly and drinking enough, it (heat) is detrimental; even the strongest rider will end up losing the race or losing significant amount of time.”

Jacques Landry, high performance director with Cycling Canada, says riders will have to adapt to the changing temperature.

“It may slow down the average speed but everyone will be on the same plane. I don’t think it could change Tour de France.”

Changes, though, have been seen at the Tour: for instance, the Tour previously did not have rest days; it now has two such days. Should it come to it, one of the easiest changes would be to move the entire event to a month with a lower average temperature, although that would mean less tourists and less money for organizers.

Landry and Wooles are confident that sports scientists will come up with solutions to any heat quandary.

“Scientists have come up with clothing and helmets that have helped cyclists,” says Wooles.

Barry remembers his socks being filled with ice and thrown into his jersey as one way to keep cool while cycling. Some put on ice-vests, other dumped water on their heads. And, of course, a lot of liquids while cycling. Ice-baths in the evening were another way that kept him cool.

The heat has forced change in other sports. Professional football has made many alterations to how its practices operate in the past decade after Minnesota Vikings lineman Korey Stringer died once his body temperature reached 108 degrees.

Barry says it is clear athletes will have to look for solutions.

“But I do wonder what they (Tour de France organizers) will do once it is clear that the heat is unsafe for cyclists. I am sure it will come to that.”

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